Apple is finally killing Ping

Ping was the annoying window that drops down every time you purchase a song on iTunes. It told you what songs your friends like or what people with similar tastes to yours, were buying off of iTunes and listening to. It also allowed users to follow selected people and discover what kind of music they were into.

Ping was originally released by Apple as an iTunes social companion approximately two years ago but it never really took off. For some reason, people didn’t like the idea of having their awkward boy band addiction broadcast to everyone they know, or really cared what was on Nelly Furtado’s iPod.

The entire service just fell flat.

Facebook and Twitter will now be more deeply integrated into the new version of iTunes that Apple is set to launch at some point in the next week. That will cover any sharing that people feel compelled to engage in with their music. Playlists users previously created in Ping will be converted into iMixes.